Review of ‘Risked: Book 6 of The Missing’ by Margaret Peterson Haddix

by vent wing

Margaret Peterson Haddix sure can tell a story. “Risked” is the sixth book in the series “The Missing,” but each book is just as unique, full of adventure and history, and fun to read as every other book in the series. The series is not growing old, just getting better.

Most readers, like this reader, want to know which famous character in history Jonah, the main character, is. They will not find out in this story. The story is told in third person narrative from Jonah’s point of view. Other main characters are his best friend Chip and his sister Katherine.

In this story, readers will learn a lot about the Romanovs, the Czar and Czarina and their family, who were killed by the revolutionaries during the Russian Revolution. Anastasia and Alexei, two of the children, were among “the missing” who (in this novel) were stolen by time travelers to be adopted by families in the future.

But the theft of many missing children in history has threatened “time,” and in the future, an agency is charged with righting the wrongs perpetrated by those who kidnapped the children. Jonah, who was one of those kidnapped children from history, and his sister, who was not, end up traveling to the past (and in this book also to the future) to help the kidnapped children foil those who have abused “time.”

Each book is educational because of the fact that they are all historical fiction, and Haddix takes her research very seriously. At the end of the book, she even shares with her readers the sources for her information.

The first book in the series is “Found,” which outlines the plot upon which the rest of the series will be built. The second book, “Sent,” takes readers back to 1483 and the time when brothers, heirs to the English throne, were locked in the Tower of London and then disappeared. “Sabotaged,” the third book, is about Roanoke Colony and Andrea Dare, the first European child to be born in America, and what happened to her. “Torn” takes place aboard Henry Hudson’s vessel during his doomed quest to find the Northwest Passage. The fifth book, “Caught,” takes Jonah and Katherine to Albert Einstein’s time, where they (and the readers) will learn many little-known facts about the world’s most admired genius.

Please note: This review is based on the final hardcover book provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for review purposes.

Follow the National Book Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.

If you would like to continue receiving book reviews, including information about author appearances, author interviews and giveaways, please click the “Subscribe” icon. It’s free and anonymous. Thank you for reading, and thank you for sharing this article with others.